Weir and the like.



F. SOHNAPP.

WEIR AND THE LIKE. APPLIUATIOK FILED 001:. 20, 1909.

Patented Dec. 27; 1910.

mun'rorvv na charged at a less velocity.

pairs sa- FRIEDRICH SCI-INAPP, OF BERLIN, GERMANY.

WEIR AND THE LIKE.

979,57 Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed Setober 20, 1909.

Patented Dec. 2'7, 1910. Serial No. 523,692.

To all whom it may concern. smaller outlets a, only seven being shown in Be it known that I, FRIEDRICH ScHNArr, the present instance for the sake of clearness. a subject of the German Emperor, and resid- These suffice for discharging at the lowest ing at Berlin, Germany, have invented cerwater-level NW of the reservoir the quantity tain new and useful Improvements in \Veirs of water required down stream, whereas at and the Like, of which the following is a the highest water-level HIV three openings S ecification, sufiice. Consequently four outlets must be My invention relates to weirs and a priclosed in turn at the corresponding watermary object is to provide improved means levels as the water-level rises, and, reversely, for regulating the flow from reservoirs havcan be opened again as the level falls. In ing a variable water-level. the illustrative embodiment these outlets are According to my invention I provide a closed by cylindrical SllCllllg-VtllVeS I, II, III, weir from which there leads to the down- IV movable in guides 9, but these slidingstream a plurality of outlets or conduits convalves diifer from those of the well-known trolled by automatic closure members. For type in that they comprise two cylindrical obtaining an approximately constant dis- Shafts b, c of different diameter, the upper charge I arrange said closure members in shafts being of differentheight. The botsuch manner that when the water-level rises tom (Z of the top, wider shaft Z) which is and the velocity of the outflowing water coropen at the top separates this from the respondingly increases the outlets are closed lower, narrower shaft 0 which is open at its automatically in order, with the exception lower end, said bottom being provided with of those which always remain open, and a sm ll aperture 6. The diameter of the top when the water-level falls and the velocity shaft is so great that the sliding-valve of the outtlowing water correspondingly defloats at the lowest waterlevel NIV, its botcreases the outlets are opened correspondtom orifice is opened and the interior of the ingly in order. Consequently at the highest Valve remains empty of water on account of water-level the conduits provided with 010- the suction produced by the water being dissure members are all closed, so that a desired charged. quantity of water per unit time flows at an In the case of the taller sliding-valves III, increased velocity only through the always IV, after the float-like body necessary for open conduits, whereas at lowest water-level making the valve buoyant has been formed, all the conduits are open through which the the upper portion may be made narrower as same quantity of water per unit time is dis represented in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2.

In order that the valves may not rise above the height (say 71 23,- cZ) necessary for discharging the water, their upward movement is limited by steps or lugs f.

Now if the water-level rises from NIV and overflows the top edge of valve I, this will fill with water, descend and close its registering outlet or conduit a. As the watenlevel rises further the same occurrences are repeated in the case of valves II, III, and IV as soon as the water-level reaches their top edges. At the highest water-level HIV the necessary three outlets alone remain open. By selecting the number of valves and the corresponding heights of their top ends it is possible to approach as nearly to the theoretical line XX of the cross-sectional area of outflow as is necessary in practice.

i lVhen the water-level falls the reverse operations take place. For example, when the falling water-level reaches the top edge of valve IV no more water flows from above One illustrative embodiment of my invention is represented by way of example in the accompanying drawing wherein:

F ignre 1 is a vertical sectional elevation in the plane AB in Fig. 3; Fig. 2 is on the left a cross-section in the plane CD in Fig. 3, and on the right a diagram explained hereinafter; Fig. 3 a diagram showing the general arrangement in plan, and Fig. 4L a top plan view of a cylindrical sliding-valve.

Referring to the drawing and firstly to Fig. 2, the curve XX can be readily calculated having horizontal ordinates which in- I dicate for every water-level measured on the abscissa Y-Y how large the total outlet must be for the pressure above atmospheric existing under the water-level in question if a definite uniform quantity of water is to be discharged. The outlet must be smaller for higher waterlevels than for lower. The total outlet consists of a large number of into it, its contents flows through aperture 0 and the valve rises until its lugs abut against the guide 9 and the outlet or conduit controlled by the valve is opened. Consequently, the valves are closed and opened automatically, regularly, in order and repeatedly 1n such manner that a uniform discharge of a definite desired quantity of water passes down stream.

In the above it has been supposed that the discharge is uniform. X--X may be calculated so that the discharge at higher water-levels is greater than at lower. If it is admissible for industrial working that in the case of larger supplies of water the discharge can be increased considerably, e. g. doubled, it is preferable to provide a second cylindrical sliding-valve chamber and to connect it with the first. The connecting sliding-valve may be so arranged that the second chamber allows only a small surplus to be discharged, since the cylindrical sliding-valves in the same also close when the low water-level NIV falls below the normal, because the cylindrical sliding-valves then no longer float and only rise gradually into the floating position corresponding to their weight when the water rises. Exceptionally high water must of course be let off as usual by special wastegates, sluices, and the like.

The guides provided for the valves may be of difierent forms. For instance, as shown in Fig. 1, said guides are in the form of beams or bars g, I- haped in cross section, while in the form shown in Fig. 2, a' series of rolls 9 constitute the guides. As shown in Fig. at, the guide rolls 9 are carried in bearings attached to the valve and cooperate with vertical tracks or guide-ways 9 In the above description the cylindrical sliding-valve has been adapted as the closure Obviously the curve 1 member because it is most suitable for the ends in view, since it has to take up no lateral forces, can consequently be guided very easily by means of simple lateral rollers without special mechanical devices, and therefore offers very small resistance to motion. The small lift of the cylindrical sliding-valve is also advantageous.

If the head of water at disposal at the herein-described regulating means is to be utilized by a turbine or other prime mover, my regulating means may be placed directly in the discharge from the turbine.

1. In means for regulating the discharge from reservoirs having variable water-level, the combination, with a weir having a plurality of outlets below the lowest water-level, of a plurality of floats of various height, open above and provided below with an outlet, each of said floats being guided vertically above one of said outlets in the weir and adapted to close the same, when the water-level rises above the float, and to open the same when the water-level subsequently falls below the float.

2. The combination, with a weir having a discharge conduit, of a cylindrical slidingvalve guided vertically above, and adapted to close the mouth of said conduit, said sliding-valve comprising a bottom shaft, a top shaft of larger diameter than the bottom shaft, and a perforated bottom between said shafts, substantially as shown and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FRIEDRICH SCHNAPP.

lVitnesses:

HENRY Hasrnn, IVOLDEMAR HAUPT. 

